Mission Statement

Department Mission

The mission of the Department of English at Illinois State University, which emphasizes
an English Studies model, is to:

maintain and support an environment of open inquiry and innovation encouraging
and extending excellent teaching by all faculty in the Department;

support and continue to develop model graduate programs at the master's and
doctoral levels also based on the concept of English Studies;

develop reciprocally supportive links between the undergraduate and graduate
programs in English and with the undergraduate and graduate programs in the
University as a whole;

prepare graduates of all English programs effectively for careers inside and
outside of education after graduation;

maintain links with secondary and post-secondary schools throughout Illinois to
foster effective research and teaching in the discipline across grade levels;

maintain and develop public service programs consistent with the teaching and
research aspects of the Department's mission;

communicate and interact with other institutions having comparable educational and research missions to enhance teaching and research within the Department and to advance theory and practice in the field generally.

Department Vision

The Department of English at Illinois State University is dedicated to providing an
environment that facilitates the individual and communal work—creative, intellectual,
pedagogical, administrative, and outreach—of our faculty, staff, and students. Our vision
is guided by the University mission statement, Educating Illinois, and includes the
following:

create a work environment that values all members as people and fosters positive
morale and transparency where possible, acknowledges and honors the
professionalism of all faculty, staff, and graduate assistants in our various roles,
and recognizes the interdependence of our work through informal and formal
discourse;

promote innovative and dynamic pedagogical research, scholarship, and practice
in the classroom and the curriculum;

support through reassigned time and co-teaching opportunities interdisciplinary research and publication, while continuing to value the forms of research and publication that are appropriate to a particular field;

continue to articulate and revise a multi-dimensional understanding of English
Studies that responds to the changing needs of our students, the field, and the
world;

maintain our commitment to providing students with a learning environment and
community that supports growth as individuals, professionals, and citizens;

strengthen diversity in the composition of our faculty, students, and curricular
and pedagogical approaches through individual, programmatic, and departmental
action;

secure the human resources, facilities and other resources required to support excellence in scholarship, teaching, and research.